Are You the Wizard Behind the Curtain?
Managing an organization is no easy task. You have to make tough decisions, control a budget, devise a marketing plan that works, keep revenues climbing, resolve challenging issues, hire and fire, revise and revamp, be able to answer questions, grow and satisfy your client base, build your brand identity, and keep generating new ideas so that you stay viable and competitive in the marketplace.
Whew!
Whether you’re a CEO, a manager, a supervisor, a team leader, a freelancer, a contractor, or the event planner in charge of this year’s business summit, being the boss is a whole lot of work!
But there’s a big secret you might be keeping when it comes to being the leader … There’s a very mistaken assumption, in some circles, that once you get to the top, once you’re in a position of leadership, when you get to be the big cheese, you no longer need training. And if you do need it, well … don’t talk about it. You don’t let anybody in on that little secret. Don’t let people know you’re not confident. Just fake it till you make it. Do the best you can. Hide behind that curtain and just hope and pray every day that no one yanks that panel back and finds out you’re flying by the seat of your pants | skirt …
Is that your story? Are you hiding behind a curtain?
There are certainly some excellent executive management and leadership programs out there for those who want to be better and learn more and gain credentialed credibility … but the average business executive can’t even afford to attend those programs nor spare the time away from the day-to-day work environment that attending those programs would require. And what if you DO spend the money, enroll and complete that training, only to realize it was a great program … enlightening … even entertaining … but totally impractical for your situation?
Working in the training business since 1981, we at Progressive Success have observed that when organizations need to trim their budgets, training is often one of the first line items considered expendable. Is this a cost effective decision? Usually not.
And we’ve been proving that for years. We know that when you eliminate training, you create problems that are not always easily detected and not always easily resolved – not the least of which is forcing your people to have to do more with less, leaving them no choice but to operate as best they can in the blind.
Here’s a challenge many of our participants have faced: You have a supervisor in one of your departments who is a technical wizard but has terrible people skills and production in that department is suffering. Not because that supervisor is a mean, bitter person whose sole purpose in life is to bring misery to others and take your company down, but because that supervisor just doesn’t know any better.
Management theory is not going to help you fix this.
Interpersonal communication skills and leadership courses are taught in institutions of higher learning but mostly these lessons are theoretical and fairly generic in approach. Not pragmatic. Not practical. Every few years a new perspective comes forth that makes the latest and greatest top 10 in management best practices. Remember Management By Objectives? How about Total Quality Management? Today we are working with Balanced Scorecards and Lean Six Sigma. Every few years someone comes up with a brilliant new approach and everyone runs out and buys the books and downloads the PDFs and attempts to get themselves up to speed …
When at the base of it all is the simple, practical task of learning how to effectively communicate with people.
Are you one of those people reading all the trending books but still struggling to figure out how to be a better leader? Still don’t know what to do about that supervisor in your production department? Or that surly receptionist? Or that disgruntled customer?
No need to hide behind that curtain any longer, waiting for someone to discover you’re not the wizard you’re pretending to be.
Consider getting some real training. Dynamic, pragmatic, affordable training that’s customized to your challenges and your workplace environment – tailored to your unique circumstances. Training that allows you to address real-time problems in an environment where you can exchange thoughts with others and glean from their experiences. Training that will allow you to build a whole new arsenal of management Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).
At Progressive Success, we believe in just that kind of pragmatic, customized training. We believe that you should be able to take back viable answers and workable solutions to YOUR challenges when the training is over. New and updated KSAs in your hip pocket. You should be able to head back to work with a lighter step because you now have an action plan you can put to immediate use.
We want you to walk away with that lighter step, glad that you spent the money. No need to crush your budget. We want you to know that our training is affordable … and to find your return on investment invaluable.
Discover more about our new online training series: PSC Pragmatics. You can register for courses here. We will be gradually adding new topics to our current list. Do you have a topic you’d like to see us address? A leadership challenge you’d like to discuss? Share it in the comments below!
Let us know what you need … so you can come out from behind that curtain and lead with confidence!